Toilet-paper



(No Model.) l Y 2 sheets-shen 2.

' W. AJLRENZ.

TOILET PAPER.

'l ;L/9\ D l v) t 1L Witnesses l: 'lvenow ANDREW EGRAHAM. PHUYD-UTHQWASNYNGTDNJ C,

Patented1$10v-z6g1a95-fu l l o rangement of the sheets.

' ',NITED STATES? ATENT' Prion. l

IVILLIAM A. LORENZ, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF TWO- THIRDS TO WILLIAM H. HONISS, OF SAME PLACE, AND HERMAN BEHR,

OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

PAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 550,280, dated November 26, 1895. Application filed October 10, 1894. Serial No.525,479. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of 5 Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toilet-Paper, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to an improved ar- 1 o rangement of toilet-paper sheets by which are secured the advantages of economy of material, ease of detaching from the package, and better adaptation for its purpose when detached. The usual commercial form of toilet-paper is a sheet made extremely thin for greater pliability, which when put up in the usual package form is objectionable because of the difficulty of separating the desired number of these extremely thin sheets by means zo of their close-lying edges. Because ofthe thinness of the paper with its great liability to imperfections it is necessary to use at least two sheets at a time, and in attempting to detach the sheets the user almost invariably takes more at a time than are required, with the re# sult that the surplus sheets are wasted. These and other obvious disadvantages are overcome in my present invention by superimposing and fastening together single sheets 3o of paper in such a way as to form a composite sheet having a central zone of two or more plies and thinner marginalzones. A package formed of these composite sheets presents distinct advantages in the matter of de- 3 5 taching the sheets, as is hereinafter fully set forth.

Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings are a side and an end view, respectively, of my preferred form of the present invention. Figs.

4o 3, 5, and 7 are side views, and Figs. 4, 6, and

S are end views, respectively, of three modi- \fied forms of my invention. Fig. 9 is an isometric view of the improved package formed by these sheets. Fig. 10 is an isometric view of the lower portion of the package of Fig. 9, illustrating how the members of the composite sheet separate when seized for the purpose of detaching it from the package. Fig. 11 is an end view of anotherl modified ar- Fig. 12 is an end view, and Fig. 13 is a side view, of a two-ply composite sheet having both of its single marginal edges folded over upon lines corresponding in position to the line 21 22 shown upon the right-hand margin of Fig. 1. Figs. 14 and 15 are an end and a side view, respectively, of a two-ply composite sheet similar to that of Figs. 3 and 4, with both its single-ply margins folded upon lines substantially at the longitudinal centers of 'those margins. 6r Fig. 16 is an isometric view of a package formed of sheets like that of Figs. 12 and 13.

In the preferred form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2 I employ two sheets of paper 1 and 2 of the length of sheet I de- 6 sire to make, but narrower than the desired width. Paste or gum is applied to either of the sheets at the small spots g, preferably at some distance from the edges or from each other, for the purpose hereinafter explained. 7o The sheets are then placed one upon the other in such a way as to form a two-ply central zone 3, united by the spots of paste g. The width of this central zone I prefer to make of a width equal to about one-half the entire width of the composite sheet.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the composite sheet is formed of the sheet 4 of the full size desired and of the sheet 5 of the size of the desired two-ply zone united 8o by the spots of paste g. Afurther modication of the two-ply sheet is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and it is similar to that of Fig. 4, except in its two-ply zone 6, which is here shown to be shorter than the length of the lower 8 5 sheet 4.

Figs. 7 and 8 show another modification of my invention, composed of three sheets 7, 8, and 9. The sheet '7 is of the full size desired, upon which is placed the narrower sheet 8, 9o and upon this the smallest sheet 9 is shown. These three sheets are united by the spots of paste g, forming a three-ply composite sheet.

A modiiication of the three-ply sheet is shown in edge view in 11, wherein three sheets 10, 11, and 12 of substantially equal width are so superimposed and united as to form a composite sheet having a three-ply central zone, a two-ply zone on either side thereof,v

and single-ply marginal zones. roo

It is obvious that the proportions of the inl dividual sheets which forni the composite sheets herein shown may be varied in size and shape to a great degree while retaining the principle feature of a central zone formed of a plurality of plies.

Among the advantages to be found in this improved forni of toilet-paper may be stated the following: Greater safety, due to the use of a plurality of sheets secured together suf- .ficiently to retain them in their relative position and to the circumstance that any holes or other imperfections which may occur in any one of the single sheets will be covered by its adjacent sheet, as shown in Figs. and et at 13 and ll, respectively; economy of niaterial, inasmuch as it is not necessary that the different members of the composite sheet shall be coextensive, but that the added thickness may be disposed where needed and omitted elsewhere. Further, economy of material is gained, in that the thinner grades of toilet-tissues maybe utilized in this invention. Greater pliabilityis also due to this latter circumstance in connection with the way in which the members of the composite sheets are fastened together in spots, thus permitting them to bend and move freely one upon the other-between those spots as compared with a single sheet of the same thickness and strength as the composite sheet or as compared with a composite sheet the members of which are pasted together throughout their entire area. Atoiletpackage formed of these composite sheets is possessed of great utility in the ease and certainty with which those sheets may be detached singly from the package, as illustrated in Fig. l0. By pressing the forelinger against the package upon the member as represented at the point l5, that portion is depressed, causing a corresponding disten sion at the edge of the member l, as shown at 16, due to the circumstance of those members being connected by the isolated spots of paste g at some dista-nce from their edges. The distended portion lb is seized between the thumb and forelinger and the composite sheet detached from the package bya slight pull.

I am aware that sheets of paper have been put together with their ends slightly overlapping and with their alternate ends so secured together with weak gum as to form a Continuous zigzag web and so that the operation of detaching' a sheet shall cause the end of the succeeding sheet to be drawn away from the package, thus enabling it in turn to be seized more readily; but none of those systems, to my knowledge, make any provision whereby two or more sheets fastened together ready for use may be detached from the package at a single movement of the hand. I am also aware that various means are employed for the manipulation of toilet-paper in the roll, whereby the loose end of the web is presented, so as to be readily grasped; and it is obvious that the various forms of my composite paper may also be used in roll form by being made into long webs either with withoiit transverse cuts or perforations te indicate where they should be severed.

Various methods and devices by means of which this improved paper may be produced are to form the subject-matter of subsequent applications. n

The forms of the individual sheets making up the composite sheet are shown of rectangular form in the drawings. In Fig. 5 I have shown in dotted lines the lower sheet e with angular edges 17 and the upper dotted sheet 1S of diamond shape. These forms may be still further varied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In Fig. l the sheets l and 2 are shown slightly mismatched longitudinally at 19. These two sheets may be mismatched to a greater extent without impairing the value of the product, enabling the composite sheet to be seized at the end also as well as the sides in order to detach it. The fastener 20 of the package would in this case pass through single sheets, enabling the composite sheettobe pulled off more easily.

rlhe severa-l sheets forming the composite sheet may be secured together with paste, gum, or by any other means-as for example, by embossing them together in spots, under pressure, without the use of any adhesive substance.

rl`he composite sheet shown in Fig. l may be reduced in compass by having one orboth of its single-ply edges folded over upon itself longitudinally at t-he line 2l 22, but n ot pasted. This will have the effect of reducing the width of the package, making it uniform in thickness and density for greater convenience in manufacturing, cutting, and wrapping, and

confers upon it the additional advantage of enabling the turned-over edge to be more readily seized in detaching the composite sheet from the package.

I claim as my inventionl. As a new article of manufacture, a compound toilet paper sheet formed of single IOO IIO

sheets of thin toilet paper laid face to face and secured together at isolated spots to form a composite sheet, the edge of one sheet projecting beyond the edge of the other sheet7 as specified.

2. A composite sheet of toilctpaper, formed of a plurality of single sheets of thin toilet paper having portions of their surfaces superimposed and secured together by adhesive material at isolated portions only of their meeting surfaces, forming a thickened yet pliable central zone for the purpose specified.

3. A composite sheet of toilet paper, formed of a plurality of single sheets of thin toilet paper having portions of their surface superimposed and secured together at isolated portions only of their meeting surfaces to form a thickened yet pliable zone for adaptation toits ultimate use, and having one or both of its single ply edges folded over upon itself for the temporary purposes specified.

4; As a new article of manufacture, a toilet meeting surfaces, leaving other portions of paper package made by securing together a those meeting surfaces separable for the purnumber of composite sheets, each of which pose specified. is composed of a plurality of single sheets of WILLIAM A. LORENZ.

5 thin toilet paper having-portions of their sur- Vitnesses:

faces superimposed and secured together by ED. E. CLAUSSEN, adhesive material at portions only of their AUGUST MUTTER. 

